|
|
In the Missa solemnis, the inspiration from older sources can be heard throughout: in its fugues, in its echoes from the time of Palestrina. And yet this music is not backward-looking. Harmonies and instrumentation point far into the future, and the vocal writing still presents a challenge for choirs and soloists today. But above all, Beethoven’s Mass does not subordinate itself to the dictates of the liturgy. It is no longer functional music but, with unbridled emotion, the music conveys Beethoven’s own thinking and feeling in every bar.
|